On 14–15 October 2025, the headquarters of the National Research Institute of Animal Production in Balice hosted an international hybrid meeting of the Standing Committee on Agricultural Research (SCAR) working groups: Strategy & Foresight Unit (SFU) and Animal Health and Welfare (AHW).
The meeting was opened by the Director of the National Research Institute of Animal Production – Tomasz Jacek, PhD Eng., who welcomed participants from all over Europe, emphasizing the importance of international scientific cooperation in the field of agriculture, animal health and welfare.
The activities of the research institutes were then presented by:
- Prof. Sylwester Świątkiewicz, PhD, Deputy Director for Science at the National Research Institute of Animal Production,
- Prof. Mirosław Polak, PhD, Deputy Director for Science at the National Veterinary Research Institute in Puławy.
The meeting was attended by representatives of the European Commission, research institutes and scientific partnerships from various European Union countries, including:
- Hein Imberechts – chair of the SCAR Animal Health and Welfare (SCAR AHW) group
- Charles Cavitte – representative of the European Commission, Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI F2)
- Nathalie Vanderheijden – coordinator of the European Partnership on Animal Health and Welfare
- Francesca Fusi – co-chair of the Animal Health & Welfare (AHW) working group
- Gérard Gremaud – co-chair of the Animal Health & Welfare (AHW) working group
- Romano Zilli – chair of the Strategy & Foresight Unit (SFU) working group
- Johannes Charlier and Latifa Elhachimi – representatives of DISCONTOOLS and Innovation Academy (remotely)
- Gyula Kasza, Nikki Mackie, Sadhana Sharma, Barbara Tiozzo Pezzoli – representatives of the RefreSCAR initiative
- Maddy Newman – STAR-IDAZ cooperation coordinator
The meeting discussed, among other things:
- research priorities in the field of animal health and welfare,
- cooperation within the European initiatives RefreSCAR, STAR-IDAZ and DISCONTOOLS,
- the current status of the European Partnership on Animal Health & Welfare,
- activities supporting scientists within the Innovation Academy.
The SCAR AHW & SFU working group meetings are an important forum for the exchange of knowledge and experience between experts from across Europe, supporting the development of scientific research and strengthening cooperation in the field of animal health, welfare and sustainable agriculture.
Poland has been actively participating in the work of SCAR groups since January 2024. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has delegated representatives of the National Research Institute of Animal Production in Balice – Dorota Godyń, PhD Eng. and Anna Orchel-Szeląg, MSc Eng. – to participate in the SCAR CWG AHW working groups, and representatives of the National Veterinary Research Institute in Puławy to participate in the SCAR CWG SFU group.
